Smile For Fred
by Rosebud5
Summary: The Final Battle is over, but a new battle has just begun. The Going On Without Fred Battle. And everyone in the Weasley family seems to be losing. However, it's George, the one you'd least expect, who takes the first step to winning the fight.


Wow... It's been a while since I've posted any stories, and now here I am with six one-shots! College has kept me busy, but Christmas break has let me, at last, write some fics. So here's a little Harry Potter one for you all... I hope you enjoy! Reviews are always a lovely thing to see!

Disclaimer: If I was J.K. Rowling, I wouldn't be looking for a job. Any job. Seriously. I need help.

~Rosey

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**Smile For Fred**

It was over. The final battle was over. But to the Weasley family, it was as if a whole new battle had just begun. And it was called the Going On Without Fred Battle. Everyone seemed to be losing this battle… Each fighting feebly in their own way. Molly Weasley was cleaning the Burrow as if so much as a speck of dust would cause a catastrophe. Arthur had dived into his work, only returning home at the late hours of the night to eat a spot of dinner before vanishing into his room. Bill was trying desperately to be the glue that held everybody together… Always being the shoulder to cry on, never letting his own tears show. Charlie was often the person using the said Bill shoulder, and he would cry shamelessly for about forty minutes before wiping his eyes and trying hard to smile and crack a Fred-esque joke, which would set everybody off around him into either shaky sobs or deathly glares. Percy was a hard one to place… He would lock himself up in his room for hours, and not a sound would come from behind the door. No sobs, no shouts, no turning of pages in a book, nothing. Just utter, still silence. Ron spent all his time with Hermione, trying hard to laugh and talk to her as if nothing was different… He was the most in denial of the family. He tried to stay away from the Burrow as much as possible, the blanket of sadness too much for him to handle after everything he had gone through with the Final Battle. And Ginny simply sat by the fireplace, her knees drawn to her chest, wearing Fred's old sweater with the giant F sewn on the front, smelling the last of her brother's cologne and joke-shop scents.

And then there was George. Fred's identical twin brother…Partner in crime…Best friend…Business partner…His everything. It was fully expected of him to be crying 24/7, huddled in his room, hugging his brother's pillow tight to his chest, screaming or wailing or cursing or _something._

But George did none of that.

Four days after Fred died, George walked down the stairs of the Burrow and into the kitchen, his face washed, his hair combed, his clothes ironed and clean. "Morning, Mum," he nodded at his mother as she looked up from scrubbing a pot. She looked at him in disbelief for a moment before mumbling quietly "Good morning, Georgie."

George walked over to the window, looking out into the bright morning air, before turning back to where the rest of his family sat watching him with wide, anxious eyes, as if he was a time bomb due to erupt any moment.

George only smiled slightly, shoved his hands into his pockets, and leaned back against the window sill. "Nice morning out, isn't it?"

"I suppose so, Georgie…" Charlie said quietly, looking nervous and tense.

George nodded slightly before suddenly rubbing his hands together briskly, taking a deep breath. "Fred wouldn't want this." The words came out simply, and everybody started. George hadn't said Fred's name since the accident.

"Wouldn't want what?" Bill finally asked tentatively.

"Us lot to be like this. He hated crying and…sadness," George's facade was slowly slipping, and his voice almost cracked, before he went on. "He'd want us to be smiling and laughing and he'd want me to still be making joke-shop candy and what not for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and he'd want everybody to just _stop_ being miserable and to be bloody happy." George's voice cracked then, but he went on, a hint of a genuine smile on his face. "So I don't know about the rest of you lot, but I plan on being…okay."

A silence filled the room for a moment before Mrs. Weasley slowly put aside the pot and went over to her son, embracing him hard and burying her face in his neck. "Oh, my boy… My Georgie. Thank you."

George wasn't sure what his mother was thanking him for, but he only nodded, embracing her back. "You're welcome, mum."

And that was the day that the Weasley family began to heal. The Battle of Going On Without Fred was still raging, but now they were winning. And it was all thanks to George. Because, if George was okay, then indirectly Fred was too. Because Fred and George were connected by a bond stronger than brotherhood, and that's love. And that, perhaps, is the greatest magic of all.

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Well, there ya go! Short, I know, but what can you do. Only my third Harry Potter fanfiction, but I hope you all enjoyed it just a little:-) Review, but be gentle! ;-)

~Rosey


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